1. The End of the World: Compare and contrast Hindu story of the Kali age with one other of the Apocalyptic stories we have read both in regard to their cultural specificity and to their archetypal significance.
2. The Underworld:Examine one of the stories we read about voyages to the underworld (that of Odysseus, Aeneas, or Er) with regard to what it reveals about the concept of the death and life after death and, if you wish, funeral rites for the dead for the particular culture the myth is from (or individual in the case of the myth of Er).
Long Essay topics:
1. Heracles/Hercules: Using the information you know about contemporary American culture and the information you have learned throughout this semester about Greek culture compare and contrast the charters that the Greek myth of Heracles and the Disney movie Hercules each provides for their respective cultures (A reminder that this "charter" ... "expresses, enhances, & codifies belief; ... safeguards & enforces morality; ... vouches for the efficiency of ritual; ... contains practical rules for the guidance of humans").
2. The Trojan War and the Returns. When Jung discusses the archetype of the Divine Child he mentions that it may appear as either a child god or as a young hero and he outlines some of the things that are typical for this individual, which forms the basis of Leeming's overview on pp. 217-221. With this in mind, examine the following question: Which Greek hero, Agamemnon, Achilles or Odysseus, would you argue that Jung or Leeming would consider most successful and why? Also include in your discussion why/how the one is more successful than the others.
2. The Underworld:Examine two of the stories we read about voyages to the underworld (that of Odysseus, Aeneas, or Er) with regard to what it reveals about the concept of death and life after death and, if you wish, funeral rites for the dead for the particular culture the myth is from (or individual in the case of the myth of Er). Also discuss how these concepts have changed over time.
3. Heracles/Hercules: Using the information you know about contemporary American culture and the information you have learned throughout this semester about Greek culture compare and contrast the charters that the Greek myth of Heracles and the Disney movie Hercules each provides for their respective cultures (A reminder that this "charter" ... "expresses, enhances, & codifies belief; ... safeguards & enforces morality; ... vouches for the efficiency of ritual; ... contains practical rules for the guidance of humans").
4. The Trojan War and the Returns. When Jung discusses the archetype of the Divine Child he mentions that it may appear as either a child god or as a young hero and he outlines some of the things that are typical for this individual, which forms the basis of Leeming's overview on pp. 217-221. With this in mind, examine the following question: Which Greek hero, Agamemnon, Achilles or Odysseus, would you argue that Jung or Leeming would consider most successful and why? Also include in your discussion why/how the one is more successful than the others.